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Amazon was considering buying troubled smartphone maker, Research in Motion (RIM), according to a report on Reuters. Other websites are reporting that Nokia and Microsoft were also considering buying the Blackberry smartphone maker, which posted a 6% decline in revenue for its latest financial quarter.

According to Reuters, Amazon hired an investment bank this summer to review a potential merger with RIM, but it did not make a formal offer.

WSJ.com also reported that Microsoft and Nokia were working on a joint bid for RIM..

In September, merchant bank Jaguar Financial, which has investments in RIM, called for the Blackberry maker to sell following falling share prices, delayed products and loss of market share. In an open letter, Vic Alboini, chairman and CEO of Jaguar, said: "The status quo is not acceptable, the company cannot sit still. It is time for transformational change. The directors need to seize the reins to maximise shareholder value before more market value is lost.

"During RIM's results announcement, co-CEO Mike Lazaridis said: “RIM continues to have strong technology, unique service capabilities and a large installed base of customers, and we are more determined than ever to capitalise on our strengths to overcome the recent execution challenges surrounding product launches."

Computer Weekly Comment

RIM is still strong in the enterprise, but iOS and Android both offer users a way to connect to the Microsoft Exchange Server without the need for IT to get involved with the expense and administration of a Blackberry Enterprise Server. RIM’s Playbook, iPad rival, has effectively been crippled by the company’s decision to tie it to Blackberry handsets. Microsoft would be a good home for Blackberry, given the company’s ties with the Exchange Server. As for Amazon, surely it was not thinking about putting BES on EC2?

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